Uncovering the Life of Your Dreams

24

It had proven to be an even more eventful day than I'd anticipated. As I got in bed, I was still thinking about Paula as well as the rest of the day's events. I fell asleep quickly, though.

Donning the mysterious blue jeans, I entered the fourth portal, where I saw nothing but green grass, trees, and rolling hills everywhere. It was a beautiful day with only a few lone white clouds in the sky. One of them looked like the torso of a woman. That made me smile, thinking of Lucena.

I decided to walk around and just enjoy the experience. I picked some yellow daffodils as I made my way through a field of perhaps thousands of them. Then, on the other side of a brief uphill climb, I saw a building on top of a much higher hill. It looked as if it came right out of a storybook. I thought about snapping my fingers or flying there but then remembered the conversation with the teacher about enjoying the ride, as well as the conversation I had with Larry and Ginette about forcing things. And so, instead of taking a short cut, I figured I'd experience the path before me.

I found the climb to be quite exhausting. At one point, I stumbled and fell to my right knee, tearing a hole in my jeans. Though it felt like hours had passed, when I looked up to check my progress, I wasn't even close. I again considered a faster approach, but the thought of “cheating” just made me even more desirous to reach my goal through a more patient process, without shortcuts.

As I finally reached the top of the ...